


Sons of Batman: Origins

by dramirezgarrido



Series: Reverse Robins LH [2]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, We Are Robin (Comics)
Genre: Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Batman is 'Dead', Damian Wayne is Batboy, Duke Thomas-centric, F/M, Post 9/11 America, Reverse Robins, We are Robin replaced by Sons of Batman
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:54:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27733378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dramirezgarrido/pseuds/dramirezgarrido
Summary: Duke is searching for his parents. Instead, he finds new friends and a cause.
Relationships: Daxton Chill & Andre Cipriani & Isabella Ortiz & Riko Sheridan & Duke Thomas & Troy Walker, Duke Thomas & Leslie Thompkins, Duke Thomas/Riko Sheridan
Series: Reverse Robins LH [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2029330
Kudos: 10





	Sons of Batman: Origins

September 09, 2002.

Duke had been alone for six months now. Six months since his parents had disappeared. Six months since his life took a 180° turn. He had been looking for his parents ever since, hoping they were alright, or at least, still alive.

He had followed a lead to this abandoned building. Some hookers a few streets away saw a bunch of white-joker-skinned people roaming around near the building. There were no signs of these people on the streets, but Duke would have to explore the building to be sure. After all, it wasn’t like he had something better to do. The foster family they had assigned him just days before wanted him to clean the dirt hole they called home.

When he got to the fifth floor, he heard some sounds coming from a room: footsteps and groans. He opened it, careful to not alert anyone inside he was there. When he peeked inside, he recognized a bunch of jokerized people roaming aimlessly. He opened the door just a bit more, trying to see if his parents were there. However, he leaned just a bit too much, clumsily falling on the floor with a loud thump. All the jokerized people turned to look at him. “Fuck,” was all he managed to say before adrenaline kicked in, allowing him to jump back up and get the fuck out of there.

He went upstairs instead of downstairs, hoping to jump to another roof, making his escape shorter (instead of running around the streets, who knows for how long). The bleached-skinned people followed him like a horde of zombies, stomping on each other every time they had to take a sharp turn. Duke had no time to take a good look. When he reached the roof, he accelerated, making his run a sprint. He then jumped to the building in front of him, which had the same height as this one, although it wasn’t abandoned. He jumped, rolling on the floor when he reached the roof of the other building.

He watched as the horde stopped at the ledge of the abandoned building. The ones in the front pushed off the verge, laughing their falls to their deaths. It was as if the Joker had loomed over this encounter; in a certain way, he did. The Joker had always been terrifying, but now that Batman was dead, he was even more so. Batman’s presence had loomed over the city for a long time now, like he was the city’s guardian angel; now that he wasn’t anymore, Joker’s menace of unleashing hell in Gotham felt palpable. He stood up, brushing away the dust in his clothes.

He realized he wasn’t alone. He turned his head, seeing an Asian girl curiously observing him. She had a red t-shirt with a sewed black bat-symbol on the center, a domino mask, a barely long enough black skirt that her knees didn’t show, yellow plastic cleaning gloves, a yellow belt over her waist and ballet shoes. Realizing that they were awkwardly staring at each other, he struck up conversation. “Ummm, Hello,” smoothly greeted Duke.

“Hello,” the other one greeted back, with a blank face. They stayed in awkward silence again.

“I’m Duke,” he tried, unknowing of what else to say.

“Riko,” the girl replied. They stayed silent for a few more seconds. “Are you a Batman fan too?” she finally asked.

Duke raised an eyebrow. “Everyone in Gotham is a fan of Batman… unless you are a criminal.”

Riko chuckled at Duke’s statement. Duke felt some heat rise to his cheeks. “I meant it as if you want to be a hero.”

Duke observed her again, realizing that she was a wannabe vigilante. “No, I’m not trying to follow Batman’s footsteps.” Riko seemed to be a bit disappointed at that. Duke sighed. “I’m just trying to find my parents,” he explained, while looking on the jokerized crowd.

The Asian observed him, then the crowd, then him again. “I could help you find them,” she offered.

Duke looked at her, frowning. “Uhhh… why would you do that?” he puzzled. He didn’t want to turn down free help, but he wanted to know if he could trust her.

She smirked at him. “Because that’s what Batman would do if he were here.” Duke had been personally saved by the caped crusader. The man had also promised Duke that he would find his parents, but he must have bailed because it had been six months since it had happened. Now Batman was dead, so he couldn’t fulfill his promise.

There was no reason to turn down the help, so he shrugged. “Thanks,” he said extending his hand towards Riko. Riko took his hand and firmly shook it.

September 12, 2002.

The next three nights had been a lot of fun. They had exchanged their cellphone numbers, sending SMSs, calling each other where to meet. They had been looking for Duke’s parents, interrogating for clues and chasing down any leads, while they also stopped petty thieves and assaults. They weren’t the new ninja kid that somehow had partnered with the Justice League, but they were making a difference, even if it was small.

They were perching on a rooftop above a local Latin dinner. “So, there was this guy. He was like 6 feet tall. The man wanted me to do his homework, as I am very good at Literature. He offered me 10 bucks. Obviously, I wanted money, but I am already getting more than 10 bucks an hour for mentoring. Besides, I couldn’t do Doyle dirty. So, I told him to fuck off. Long story short, I ended up suspended—”

“—Again,” completed Riko. She was smiling fondly at him. “You are serious trouble Duke. I’m sure if my parents met you, they would think you are a terrible influence.”

“Nuh-uh,” denied Duke. “You are the terrible influence here, Sheridan. Tangling me,” he put a hand in his chest, “a poor innocent youth, in a high-risk activity like crime fighting.”

“Idiot,” she said, pushing the boy away and rolling her eyes, but smiling through the whole exchange. Duke grinned at her, feeling some heat rising to his cheeks again. He was so into this girl. He had had his number of affairs, some going below the pants; however, this time it didn’t feel like lust, it felt more romantic.

Their communion was cut off short when they heard screams from below them. “Punk ass, you hit me, you’d better knock me out,” said the girl below them, who Duke recognized as Izzy from the martial arts classes he had been attending, punching a guy on the jaw. There were another three guys. The five of them were all Latin-American.

A man from behind the girl apprehended her by the waist. “Looks like we screwed up last time we put you in the hospital. Shoulda just put you down,” said the guy who had just been punched from the floor. The other two men had drawn out knifes.

A 4v1 with weapons was hardly fair. Duke and Riko nodded to each other, lowering themselves through the outside stairs from the building. When they got to the second floor, Duke and Riko dropped. “As much of a badass Izzy is,” he began while on the air, “I would hardly call a 4v1 a fair fight. We’ve come to even the odds.”

“Duke!” exclaimed Izzy alleviated.

“That’s me,” he commented, while punching one of the guys with knifes, while Riko took the other one out. Izzy elbowed the man behind her, flipping him on his back, slamming him to the floor. Riko perfectly evaded the knife aimed towards her, while using her bo-staff to hit him on his thigh. She dropped the staff, and in a swift movement, took the man by the arm and neck, slamming him to the floor. Meanwhile, Duke had barely evaded a stab, quickly moving besides the man, sweeping on feet away, and pushing him to the floor, taking his knife and throwing it away. Izzy took another swing at the man who had just stood up. It landed on the gut. The punch was hard enough to make him vomit. Gross.

“Reminds me when we were kids and Jose Anaya punched you so hard you puked,” reminisced Izzy, looming over the beefed guy, now reduced on the ground. “You gonna cry again too?” she taunted. Overpowered and humiliated, the four of them retreated to their truck. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

“Damn, you have some crazy friends. Not as crazy as the girl over here, but …” he commented while pointing with his hand to Riko behind him. Riko punched him in the shoulder. “Oww,” he complained sobbing his shoulder. Nonetheless, Duke smirked at Riko. Riko rolled her eyes.

“Hector isn’t my friend Duke. He is my brother,” Izzy explained, glancing at Duke. She then looked at the Asian girl, grinning at her. “Those moves were so badass chica!” she praised. Riko flushed a little at the compliment. “I’m Izzy,” she presented herself.

“Riko,” the other one responded, recovering her composure. She turned around to retrieve her staff.

Izzy turned to Duke once again. “Would you guys like to come inside for a treat?” she offered.

Duke grinned. “Sure.”

…

They were sitting on a table by the windows, Riko and Duke besides each other, while Izzy across them. Duke broke off the silence. “So, your family is part of the Latin Kingz. That must suck.”

Izzy sighed, clearly mortified. “You have no idea. That is exactly why I began to take self-defense classes,” she lamented. “But that’s enough of me guys, what are you doing with that bat on your chest?” she inquired, pointing to Riko’s t-shirt.

“What Batman would do,” replied Riko with conviction, tilting her head a bit up.

“Fighting crime,” Duke added, thinking that the search for his parents wasn’t important.

Izzy hummed. “You aren’t telling me the whole story,” she affirmed. Duke’s eyebrows shot up, his cheeks reddening at being caught. Izzy smirked, leaning back on her seat. “C’mon man. You are so easy to read.” Duke looked away. Izzy leaned forward, putting both of her hands together on the table. “So, what is it?”

Duke kept looking outside, observing a couple, smiling at their daughter walking in front of them, telling some story. He looked at Izzy in the eyes, with an intense gaze. “I’m looking for my parents.”

Izzy gave him a quizzical look. “They were jokerized,” explained Riko. Duke gaped at the girl, surprised that she knew. Riko shrugged, sitting straighter “I’m not an idiot.” Duke guessed the remark was fair.

Izzy glanced back and forth at them. Then, she looked outside, at some shady men down the street talking between each other, exchanging items. Her fist clenched. She sighed, looking back to Duke, her fists relaxing. “I could help you,” she proposed. Duke raised an eyebrow, having a deja-vú. Riko’s eyes narrowed. “Hey, don’t look at me like that,” she told them, raising her hands to show her palms. “I totally owe you guys one after what you did there,” she justified, lowering her hands back to the table. “Besides,” she added looking back outside, “I want to make a difference too.”

Riko and Duke looked at each other. Riko leaned a bit towards Izzy, a bit weary evident in her tensing, but wanting her to join. She nodded at Duke. Again, Duke had no reason to turn down the help, so he shrugged, looking back at Izzy. “Sure,” he told her. She grinned at them.

September 16th, 2002.

It had only been four days, and they already had a routine. Riko and Duke would hang out together as soon as they got out of school, doing their homework together. Later, Duke would leave to mentor elementary kids on literature, while Riko went back to her apartment. After dinner, Riko would escape her apartment, meeting at the place they had previously agreed upon that day. They would chase Duke’s parents, while kicking petty criminals’ asses. At 11 p.m., Izzy would call them to know their whereabouts. The three of them would go out on patrol. At 1 p.m. they would call it a night, going to their respective places to crash for the night.

Only twice they had engaged multiple criminals with firearms. The first time, one of them had took Riko hostage while the other one pointed a gun at them. Riko solved the situation by shoving the gun upwards while moving downwards herself, after noticing how loose the grip of the man was. She then bounced upwards again, hitting the man holding her hostage in the jaw with her head, taking the firearm away. As soon as the other man moved to point his gun at Riko, Izzy hit him on the head with her elbow while Duke lunged for his arm. They struggled for the firearm, shots heard across the alley they were in, but in the end, the gun ran out of bullets, allowing the young vigilantes to take the advantage.

The second time was this one. They went against two men at the same time again. They had enough distance between them so that any attempt to disarm them would be futile and deadly. Fortunately, they weren’t the only ones in the scene. Three other vigilantes appeared from behind the men, slowly approaching them from behind. Duke, Izzy and Riko only had to stall for enough time for the others to take them down from behind.

The first of the other vigilantes had crest orange hair, yellow googles, a worn-out leather jacket, green t-shirt, blue jeans stained with oil and plastic boots. The man used a wrench as his weapon. The second one was a blonde 6-feet-tall jock, using football armor with an orange t-shirt with a skull on one side, gray scarf, black sweatpants and white sneakers. This one didn’t use any weapons, seemingly relying on his fists. The last one used an all-black outfit: a leather jacket with a hood, a plain t-shirt, jeans and sneakers. He used two batons as his weapons. All of them used gloves, the first one used worn-out black ones, the second one used orange football ones, and the final used black fabric fingerless ones.

Duke himself had begun using an outfit for going on patrol himself: a black jean hoodless jacket, a yellow t-shirt with a bat that Riko had sewed in, gray jeans and yellow sneakers. He began learning how to use knuck chucks but didn’t bring them for now as he wasn’t good enough at using them. Izzy for her part used a baseball cap, a dark-blue fabric hood jacket, white t-shirt, skinny blue jeans and white sneakers. She used a chain as her weapon.

“So,” began the one with the crest, breaking the silence Duke hadn’t even realized they had fallen into, “are you doing the same thing as us?” he asked, rubbing his nape.

The one all-black scoffed, looking away. “If that’s the case, then they aren’t doing a very good job.”

Duke raised an eyebrow at the remark, Izzy clenched her fists and Riko glared at the man. “Fuck you man! What’s your problem?!” Izzy yelled.

The man glared back at her but relaxed his posture. “We just saved your asses from two low-level criminals. My problem is that you are way out of your league!” he chastised. Duke saw his point; on the other hand, what an ass.

Before they could continue their argument though, Duke heard a woman cry “Help!” in the distance. He immediately bolted towards where the sound had come from.

“Duke, wait!” shouted Riko from behind him, presumably running after him. He didn’t wait though, sprinting towards the possible victim. He turned around the alley, to see a bunch of men surrounding a woman, groping her.

“You are a damn whore,” insulted one of them. “Now open your legs!” he demanded, while another one of them tore the woman’s blouse apart. Duke opened with a straight to the face of one of the four men. To his surprise, not only did Riko and Izzy join him, but the other three vigilantes did too (though he should’ve expected it). It was way too easy with the six of them.

Riko kneeled in front of the victim, invoking the softest voice she could muster. “Are you alright?” she asked, looking at the victim in the eye. She flinched. “It’s okay, it’s okay,” she reassured, tentatively putting a hand on her shoulder. That won her another flinch, but the woman didn’t swat away the arm. “They are gone,” she assured. “You are safe now.” The woman began crying and Riko embraced her. Meanwhile, Izzy had called the cops, sounding furious about the whole ordeal.

“We’d better get going before the cops arrive,” the one with a crest suggested, pointing to a ladder in an alley.

“Meet you at the rooftop?” invited the blonde one, already walking backwards towards the ladder.

Izzy hummed. “Thought you believed we weren’t doing a good enough job,” she remarked, crossing her arms and tilting up her chin.

The one with a crest elbowed in the ribs the all-black one. He rubbed his ribs and sighed, meeting Izzy in the eyes. “Yeah, well… I was wrong,” he mumbled. The three of them climbed up the ladder. Izzy smirked, running behind them. Duke couldn’t help but smirk too.

Duke glanced back at Riko, still holding the girl. “You guys are coming or what?” shouted Izzy from the ladder, a hand besides her mouth. Yeah, no. It would be insensible of their part to leave the girl alone until the cops came.

“We are right behind you!” Duke yelled back. Izzy turned her head a little, just to glance at Riko embracing the woman. She nodded, giving her thumbs up. She then climbed to the roof, disappearing in it.

Finally, when they heard police sirens approach, Duke tapped Riko on the shoulder. Riko whispered something to the woman, probably more reassurances, before she stood up and nodded at Duke. They climbed the ladder just as the police cars turned on the corner.

When they arrived at the group, they found them pleasantly talking between them, all hostility from the first exchange gone. Izzy grinned when she realized they were approaching, straightening from her relaxed posture. “Guys meet Duke and Riko,” she presented them. Duke raised his hand while Riko smiled. “Duke, Riko, these are Dax,” she said referring to the crest guy, who waved a hand at them, “Dre,” referring to the all-black guy, who nodded at them, “and Troy,” referring to the blonde one, who imitated Duke’s gesture.

“Lovely, now that we all know each other, how about we team up?” Troy asked, cutting directly to business. Dre immediately glared at the man, his shoulders tensing a bit. Troy shrugged. “We could use the help,” he honestly added. Dre sighed, slumping a bit, but nodded, nonetheless.

Duke and Riko looked at Izzy, as she has been talking to them for 5 minutes or something like that. Now that he thought about it, Duke had been far too trusting. Izzy shrugged. “They are cool.” Guess that meant he would be even more trusting.

September 30th, 2002.

They had been working for two weeks now. While other kids went to parties and got drunk or drugged, or play videogames in the house of someone without the involvement of any psychoactive substances, like any normal kid their age would do, they beat criminals asses as a means of bonding. At the start, Duke had been wary of almost everyone (including Izzy but not Riko) after his realization. However, with the time hanging out, he began trusting more his new team.

He would sometimes talk about crime novels with Dre or talk about philosophy with Troy. They would attend to a football match of Troy or have dinner at Izzy’s restaurant. He would hear over Dre and Riko going fanatic over Batman. Sometimes, they would spar between them. Other times, they would play capture the flag as a means of better exercising strategy. They would chill out on the rooftops of Gotham, telling anecdotes to each other while eating ice cream from McDonalds 24h. After a long time, Duke had made friends. He only wished he could find once and for all his parents to tell them about it.

He hadn’t had mentoring that day. He was walking down the street with Riko; the two of them laughing at a joke Duke had made. The sun was just setting which meant time to go to dinner. Suddenly, he heard Riko roar “Look out!” while tackling him to the ground. As he fell, the deafening sound of a semi-automatic gun shooting filled the street. When they fell to the ground Duke registered the commotion around him: civilians fleeing the scene.

Laying down looking at the floor, he had identified the origin of the shots at his left. Fortunately, there was a car covering them to his left; Riko probably had shoved them there on purpose. He finally remembered to check. “Riko! Riko!” He said shaking by the shoulder the girl on his side. “Are you alright?” he asked her.

She was clenching her teeth. “M-My leg!” she announced, grabbing her right leg with both hands. It was bleeding, but not a lot. Owing to using a skirt, Duke could see the two gunshot wounds in the calf. Duke’s heart was pounding on his ear.

It didn’t help when they heard a gun being loaded again, and the doors of a car being shut, a little bit too close. “Search for them,” Izzy’s brother, Hector, ordered. Duke could see the feet of the gang at his left. Duke had no doubt they were here after them; revenge for how they humiliated the men.

Thinking fast, Duke took his jacket off, quickly strapping it around Riko’s calf. He then tugged Riko by the hand, indicating her to roll below the car on their left. As they did so, Duke realized the men were going to check below the car when they hadn’t found them on the street. Duke’s mind raced 100 mph. He couldn’t die here; he didn’t want to die here. Not when he didn’t know where his parents were. He scanned all directions, realizing there was only one escape route.

The goon checked behind the car the kids have ducked behind. The street was empty. He crouched to check below the car, pointing the semi-automatic gun. Nothing. “Boss, they have escaped,” he announced, sounding more bored than disappointed.

Hector shoved him out of the way. The man glowered at Hector. “How is it possible that they are gone?” he said, while crouching to check the floor like the goon did. Hector clenched his teeth. “They won’t have any luck next time. Let’s go!” he shouted. The men made their way back to the pickup truck.

Hector’s mistake was that he had parked just to the side of the car that the teens had ducked behind. That created blind spots that allowed Duke and Riko to roll between the two cars and below the pickup truck, before Duke stood up, picked up Riko in bridal style carry, and made his way behind a mailbox. It was good they were of the athletic type and that they had been practicing stealth, otherwise they wouldn’t have pulled that off.

Their hearts were beating on their ears, Duke and Riko hugging tightly behind the mailbox.

Once they heard the truck making its way out, they took the breath they didn’t realize they were holding. They kept hugging for a solid five minutes, feeling each other’s heartbeats until they normalized again. Duke took a deep breath, releasing the hold just enough to reach his cellphone. He dialed. “Leslie? I need your help.”

…

“You are lucky the bullets are of low caliber. It’ll take three weeks to heal. In the meantime, no physical activity with the leg. No walking for five days,” Leslie prescribed, no softness in her voice. It would seem rude to someone that hadn’t dealt with her before. It was terrifying when you had dealt with her before because it meant she was pissed. Really pissed. Meanwhile, Riko was high on painkillers in the medical bed. “Seriously Duke Thomas,” Duke shuddered at the use of his full name, “what have you two gotten yourselves into?” she inquired, looking him dead in the eye.

Duke sighed, slumping on his chair, looking down. “There was this girl Izzy, who was going to be assaulted by his brother Hector and other gangsters. We got into the fight, kicked their asses,” he couldn’t help but grin although he knew it was completely inappropriate. “They are now searching for revenge,” he finalized.

Leslie rubbed her temples. “Are you serious Duke?” she chastised; disbelief full on her voice. “Just when I thought that you were finally getting on the right path, you come to me with this?!” she lectured, showing her palms in an expansive gesture.

“What was I supposed to do?” Duke argued, looking up to meet Leslie’s face. “Allow her to get killed?!”

“You could have – I don’t know – called the police!” she exclaimed.

Duke scoffed. “Sure, and they would’ve arrived at a minute’s notice. Izzy’s blood would’ve long stained the alley before sirens could be heard,” he countered.

Leslie retained eye contact before continuing, this time her voice was softer. “That was noble,” she began. Duke was relieved for a moment. “But stupid,” she continued, in a much colder voice. “Duke, you’ll have to be put under police protection. I don’t know any foster parents that are going to put up with that besides Bruce Wayne. And he is dead, so we can’t go that route,” she explained, her palms joining. Riko’s ears perked at this, she opened her eyes to look worryingly at Duke. “This time I’m being literal. I have no idea of what I’m going to do with you.”

“I need no protection,” he offered, which was a blatant lie, and had no way of justifying.

Leslie snorted. “You are not Superman kid. You need the protection,” she calmly replied. Her fingers curled around her hands. “Gotham is an already dangerous place without being on the heirs of a gangster. Honestly, if I can’t convince a foster parent to host you with a security detail, you’ll be safer in the Juvie.”

His fists tightened. Leslie’s words felt like a betrayal. She couldn’t be sending him to Juvie, not after all her speeches of believing in the man he could become. “No.”

Leslie swallowed, her legs closing a little. “Duke I—”

But Duke didn’t want to hear it. He ran from the hospital room, he fled from the hospital, ignoring Leslie calling behind him. He had run to the streets, just thinking about getting away. He didn’t register where he had gone, where he was heading towards, he just ran until he had to catch his breath. He looked around, noticing that he recognized this part of the town. He heard his phone ringing. He answered between panting “Hello?”

“Duke,” it was Troy at the other side of the line. He had forgotten to check the name on the screen, his attention all over the place. “Dude, where are you? We were supposed to meet fifteen minutes ago.” Oh yes, he had forgotten. Between taking care of Riko and Leslie’s scolding, he had completely forgotten. “Is Riko with you? She isn’t here either.”

Duke didn’t know where to begin, but before he opened his explanation, an idea struck his head. “I’ll meet you at Izzy’s dinner. This is very important,” was all that he said before he hanged, disregarding Troy’s demands to explain more.

…

“That bastard,” Izzy muttered, her eyes glowering, pressing the table they were sitting at hard. “Not content with making my life impossible, he now wants to go after you guys,” she grumbled, pointing at Duke with her hand. Troy put a hand on her shoulder to reassure her.

“That’s not everything,” Duke said, squeezing his intertwined hands on his lap, looking down at it. Dre had been steadily tensing during the entire explanation. Somehow, he tensed more. Dax kept looking out on through the window, but he had paid attention to all the explanation judging by his movements. “I…” Duke began, unsure of sharing this part of his life to his new friends. He already trusted them his life, didn’t he? There wasn’t a point anymore of trying to hide it. “I have been almost sent out to Juvie a number of times as a result of getting involved in multiple riots,” he explained. Izzy rolled her eyes, basically stating ‘No shit sherlock’; the rest of them weren’t surprised. He had informed Riko a week ago; her response was to tease him about being a bad influence (she wasn’t shocked either). “I have been evading it because Leslie has always had my back. However, now that I’m in possible danger, she suggested to send me to Juvie as a means of keeping me safe,” he explained. He sighed, letting go of some of the pressure in his hands. “I think she has finally given up on me.” Saying so churned his stomach.

Everyone remained silent, clearly tense because of what Duke had just dropped. “I need your help,” he blurted out. Everyone looked at him, even Dax, urging him to continue. “I had this stupid idea… If Hector was to be apprehended, then I wouldn’t be in danger anymore, which means I wouldn’t have to go to the Juvie.” He looked at everyone, expectant of their response. All of them seemed to be apprehensive, except for Dre, who looked completely onboard.

“So, you want us to apprehend my brother,” Izzy spelled out, her tone and face betraying no emotion.

Duke had totally ignored that. However they may be fighting, Hector and Isabella were still siblings. “Izzy, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

Before he could finish though, Izzy put her palm in front of him, stopping him. She closed her eyes, sighing. “Look, Hector is my brother. I love him and all… But he is trying to kill you,” she monologued. Duke’s eyes filled with hope as Izzy continued. “I joined this cause, I put a bat on my t-shirt, because I want to stop people like my brother. And if he must go to prison to keep you guys safe, then I’m willing to assist.”

Duke stood up from his chair, leaning awkwardly across the table to hug Izzy. “Thank you,” he whispered. She laughed and patted his back, signaling Duke to sit back on his chair. Duke had a light smile as he sat down. “So… is everyone onboard?” he asked, glancing at everyone.

Troy fisted his palm. “They mess with one of us, they mess with all of us,” he exclaimed.

“Yeah!” Dax cheered, putting his fist on the air. “Let’s not forget about Riko. Hector must pay for what he did to her!” he slammed his fist on the table. Everyone in the establishment turned to look at them. “Sorry, I got a bit carried away,” he announced. Everyone got back to what they were doing.

Dre smirked. “Let’s get these thugs skulls rolling. I’ve been craving to finally reach the next level,” he said, referring to going against people that had more power than a few handguns or knives. These guys had semi-automatic guns, so it would prove a little more difficult to disarm them.

“So,” Izzy voiced, leaning against the table a bit more to show interest, “what’s the plan?”

…

Duke was patrolling on a set of roofs. They had all agreed that they would all patrol individually to cover more area. The area they were covering belonged to the Latin Kingz, which had been shrinking since they began a war against the Blue Panteras (why did all gangs sound like they were football teams?). Duke had seen no sign of Hector the hour they had been patrolling. Suddenly, his phone ringed. “Found him. Assaulting the Kebab business on 5th street.” The phone clicked. It had been Dax. Normally he would say more; however, they had agreed that for this night, time was of essence. Duke jumped, from roof on roof, getting down from one building, just to climb on the next because the street was too wide. The five of them grouped in front of the store.

“One man covering the entrance,” said Dax, holding his binoculars, as if it was necessary to see what was going on there. “Another one keeping the clients at bay. Just five minutes ago, Hector and the last man entered the kitchen with the owner and the employees,” Dax informed them.

“What do we do?” Izzy asked, playing with her chain.

Duke just came up with a plan. “I’ll act as bait to clear the one in the entrance. Dre, Dax,” he dictated, “you’ll take him from behind. Izzy, you’ll approach the other one stealthily and take him down. Troy, you’ll make sure he doesn’t fire the weapon.” Everyone nodded at the plan. They dispersed to take the ideal positions.

Duke appeared from the corner of the street, which wasn’t far from the Kebab store. He pretended that he made too much noise by accident. As soon as the man turned his head, Duke bolted back from where he came. “Wait slimy bastard, I ain’t done with ya,” he heard the man yelling from behind. Duke was chased to an alley, where he took cover behind a dumpster. The man approached too uncaring, not taking a good look of his surroundings, allowing Dre and Dax to drop on him and knock him out with a combined attack.

They went back to the store, finding that the clients were being evacuated. Apparently, both had successfully infiltrated the store. Troy had thrown a rope to apprehend the man’s hands, making the man drop his gun, while Izzy choked him with her chain from behind. Izzy was now using a blue domino mask to hide her identity, while Duke was using sunglasses and a black mouthpiece, and Dre used a mask that covered the upper half of his face. All of them had the Bat-symbol on their chests, sewed into their t-shirts by Riko.

“You aren’t Batboy. Who are you?” asked a man, presumably a reporter given his disregard for the situation.

They looked at each other, unsure of what to say. They hadn’t decided on a name yet. It was Dre who decided to speak up. “The Sons of Batman,” Dre said, puffing his chest. That sounded cool as hell, so everyone nodded at the name.

The man’s eyebrows raised. “Are you relatives of him too?” he asked.

“No, just inspired by him,” Troy clarified. The man seemed a bit disappointed at the response.

“It would be wise to get out of here sir, we wouldn’t want you to get injured,” Duke suggested, making a gesture for him to leave.

“Right,” the man said, quickly leaving the establishment.

“We need codenames,” Dax pointed out. He was right, having no means to identify themselves in front of civilians was problematic.

“Let’s just use our signature colors,” Duke suggested, going for the simplest solution. “Green”-Dax-“What is going on behind those doors?” 

Dax had an ear put on the metallic door of the kitchen. “The man is goading the owner on being a terrorist. He seems to be trashing the place. The owner is begging for the man to stop.”

Everyone looked at Duke for a plan. He thought for a hot 15 seconds about it. “Black, you are going to keep Hector occupied for the next minute or so. The rest of us will sneak from the backdoor and take them down stealthily.”

“Why do I have to distract him?” Dre whined, gripping his batons tightly.

“Shush. Yellow was the bait last time,” Izzy replied, already leaving the place. Dax shrugged at Dre, who looked completely betrayed, grumbling about no one questioning Duke.

While they sneaked from behind, they heard a burst of shots, meaning Dre was already distracting the man. As they entered, they saw Hector and the other man aiming towards the kitchen door. They sneaked behind them, pounding their heads towards the ground with combined attacks. “We are clear!” announced Troy to Dre. They celebrated their victory giving hi-fives to each other. The owner of the store was dumbfounded at the situation in front of him.

Izzy put her foot on Hector’s head, grinning mischievously at the unconscious man. “Who is the weaker one now huh?”

Once they heard the police sirens, they all headed to the backdoor to escape from it. Batboy having good relations with the police didn’t mean they would accept The Sons of Batman. Before they opened the door though, the police owner talked. “W-Wait, thanks for what you just did.” Pride bloomed in Duke’s chest. He’d bet that everyone else was feeling the same. “Who are you?”

“The Sons of Batman,” Duke answered, straightening his back. The old man blinked at them. With that, they sneaked out of the place.

…

It was almost 1 a.m. when they had apprehended Hector, so they all decided to head straight to their homes. Duke tried to sneak back to his room but was surprised when he found out that the lights of the apartment were on, and there was sound coming off. He made a quick change, taking off his yellow Batman t-shirt, revealing the red one he wore earlier in the day. He also shoved his sunglasses and mouthpiece in a pocket of his, and threw his Batman t-shirt behind a dumpster (he would later come back for it).

Instead of sneaking inside, he knocked on the front door, curiously getting greeted none other by Leslie Thompkins, who promptly shoved him into a tight embrace. She was a full head taller than him. “I’m so relieved that you are alright,” she gushed. Duke was confused; he knew Leslie cared about him, but he didn’t know she cared this much. Still, he hugged her back. It felt nice to be hugged. “I’m so sorry for what happened earlier at the hospital. I was frustrated and I should’ve never said that.”

“It’s alright,” Duke lied. It wasn’t a complete lie though, as it didn’t matter anymore because his friends and him had solved the issue already. The family observed them, totally indifferent at the scene in front of them.

Leslie pulled back from the hug, meeting Duke’s eyes. “I have good news,” she announced. Duke chirped a bit, hoping that he was finally getting out of that excuse of a foster home to a better one. “Hector Ortiz has been apprehended, there’s no need to get you under police protection,” she told him. He already knew that, but he grinned, nonetheless. ‘Another time’, he thought, ‘another time’.

October 1st, 2002.

Fortunately, Riko’s parents didn’t blame Duke or her new friends on what happened. They understood that Izzy had been in great trouble, and while they didn’t celebrate Riko’s choice of getting involved, they understood it. It helped that Hector was behind bars now. They were listening to some music together (Riko had an interesting collection of CDs) in Riko’s bedroom, due to her incapacitation. They weren’t really talking, just enjoying each other’s company. The sun was already setting, meaning they would soon have dinner. He felt his cellular vibrate. He took it out, checking the SMSs.

“What happened?” Riko inquired curiously.

He put his phone back on his pocket. “Just Dre. He told us to meet after dinner at an abandoned subway station. He says he has a lead on my parents and has already notified the rest.” Riko hummed.

…

“So, Dre, what’s the lead you’ve got?” asked Duke, surprised that everyone had arrived before him. Everyone was gathered in a circle; they must’ve been chatting lightly. He had been too caught up with Riko.

“My lead? You were the one who had a lead,” Dre replied, completely confused at the situation. The rest nodded at Dre’s statement.

No one had a lead, but they thought the other had a lead. This could only mean “It’s a trap” Duke stated, losing a bit of color on his cheeks. Everyone tensed ready to fight.

A pause. “-TT- At least one of you has brains,” a voice from the shadows, from a child, taunted. They turned around, to see the short figure approach them, slowly coming into the light of the space. Duke recognized the kid in front of him as Batboy, who had a careful blank expression. He examined all of them before adding:

“Greetings pretenders.”

**Author's Note:**

> This work is complementary to [Little Hero (a Damian-centric story)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27547516), part of the series this work is part of. The ending connects directly to Chapter 11.


End file.
